What Is Color Psychology in Web Design? How Does It Work?

There may be certain situations where the person who will design the website needs to do several things at the same time.

Firstly, the site that the web designer creates must look professional and catchy.

The web designer must ensure that the navigation of the web site is easy to understand.

It should keep the internet user’s attention on the site for as long as possible.

It should gently guide the user through the process of visiting the site and then quietly encourage the user to take the necessary actions.

It is a fact that we have become more and more aware lately that the web designer has an impact on consumers’ or readers’ behavior.

That’s why people or agencies that provide web design services use color psychology to help guide users’ behavior when creating a website.

The psychology of color is crucial to maximizing your site’s web design and user focus.

Using the right colors can help you get your end users to take action and lead them toward your main marketing goal.

Color has enormous power to help you grab customers’ attention and improve conversions by triggering the right emotions to sell.

Colors often define the public’s perception of your brand and what you stand for.

However, there are two critical questions to be asked at this point:

1. Which color is correct for my brand?
2. Which color should I choose for maximum effect?

It is important to understand that the psychology of color plays a massive role in persuasion.

You should remember that persuasion is different from coercion, manipulation, or just being offensive.

Persuasion, on the other hand, is about taking the steps that are needed to get customers to act.

At the end of the solid persuasion process, the action will be conversion or purchase.

Color and Conversions

There is a proven scientific connection between the color of products and buying behavior.

Whenever you see a color, a chain of reactions takes place in your hypothalamus, located in the forebrain (cerebrum).

Your thyroid releases hormones that cause you to experience emotions.

62% to 90% of purchasing decisions are actually based on the color you use!

So, learning more about the psychology of colors can help your website make a lot more money.

Which Colors Should I Use Where?

The colors you use are sometimes not exactly obvious, but they do make a difference to a certain extent.

The main things you should pay attention to are the following:

• Images
• Pop-ups
• Sidebars
• Titles
• Background tones
• Banners and Graphics

Depending on who your website is targeted at, you should choose the color of these prominent areas.

Let’s go a little deeper into this topic now.

Contrast and Brightness

Brightness also plays a vital role in your website’s performance.

It is generally believed that women prefer soft colors and men prefer brighter colors.

Contrast is another important color factor that affects the readability of the website.

No one enjoys reading poorly colored text in your “Call to Action” or anywhere else on your website.

Imagine a black “Buy Now” button on a light black background.

Most likely, this button will be invisible.

If you created navigation tabs and drop-down menus using discrete colors, it would be as bad as having no buttons at all.

When analyzing your website, do it from the users’ perspective and try to act like an ordinary user.

That’s when you can understand how your site looks to users.

Case Studies on Color Psychology

According to a color psychology case study posted in MOZ, an online slot machine company simply changed the “Call to Action” button from green to yellow.

This small change was reflected in conversions with a massive 187.4% increase!

Trying different color patterns for your website and doing A/B tests is what we recommend.

You can use various colors to implement Multivariate Regression Analysis for your users.

Because of these tests, it will be much easier for you to figure out which colors get the most attention from your target audience.

10 Colors According to Internet Marketers’ Perception

Based on the psychology of colors, we have gathered together useful information for you about the study of colors and the emotions they inspire.

When they are used correctly, these colors will be very helpful in giving your website the right personality to increase conversion rates.

1. Pink

Let’s start with pink. If your target market is predominantly women, pink is a good color for you.

This color is known to increase feelings of fun and romance.

Pink is very strongly associated with youth and femininity.

It is an oriental color and brings innocence to the mind.

It’s a great color for websites that cater to women or have a female-dominated audience.

2. Blue

Blue represents reliability and gives users a cool feeling.

Health-related industries, monetary transactions, or any other industry that requires credibility often use this color.

3. Red

Nothing grabs people’s attention like red.

Red is considered the most effective color for “Call to Action” buttons.

If you’re designing an “Act Now” button for a project, the color of the button should indisputably be red.

Red is a stimulating, exciting color.

It is associated with passion, power, and sometimes anger.

It can be used for warnings or to indicate danger, but it can also indicate strength, determination, and courage.

Brighter and more vibrant reds, such as a mid-tone or tomato red, are great options for websites that want to boost energy and motivation.

4. Green

Green is the color of peace and nature.

It can give users a feeling of calmness, rejuvenation, well-being, and optimism.

Darker shades of green are more associated with monetary matters, so sites that want to suggest welfare, growth, and stability often use these hues.

Lighter colors remind us more of spring and growth, so websites that want to show calm, newness, and honesty often use lighter colors.

If your website sells organic products, it would be more beneficial to have a green-dominant background.

5. Yellow

In the world of marketing, yellow stands for a healthy mind that is free of carefree and sad thoughts.

It is the best color for online stores that sell things like clothes and toys for children.

This color is also associated with attention.

Yellow is often considered the most energizing color.

Since ancient times, people have learned to associate yellow with the sun, so yellow is associated with warmth and happiness.

It would be a wise choice to use bright yellow on sites designed for children, since it easily attracts children’s attention.

The finer shades of yellow have more complex relationships.

By evoking yellowed parchment, darker tones suggest antiquity.

Therefore, it can also be associated with wisdom and curiosity.

Shades of yellow are great for sites that want to show a sense of authority and intelligence.

6. Purple

Purple represents elegance and refinement.

The purple color is an ideal choice for a website with luxury goods.

7. Orange

Orange can represent complexity, but it can also be attention-grabbing.

Orange is a more balanced and less dominant color than red.

It is ideal for designs that are lively, energetic, friendly, and need energy.

Websites looking to reflect their creativity often choose orange because it’s unique and exciting but still has the ease of a warm color.

This color is convenient as a background for the websites of tech companies.

8. Gold

As a metallic color, gold signifies power and prestige.

It can go perfectly well with other colors that express elegance, such as green and purple.

9. Black

Black is versatile and goes well with other colors.

It is one of the colors that can be matched to contrast with the rest of the colors used on the website.

10. Brown

Brown is a casual color that promotes relaxation and calm.

This color is perfect for health and wellness-related websites.

On the other hand, cream tones are calm, elegant, and pure, making them a great background color for a website that wants to imply a sense of tradition when used together.

While brown and its shades can seem boring, they can also be reassuring, making brown tones ideal for a site that doesn’t want to be too bold or overbearing.

Furthermore, dark brown feels healthy and safe. It is associated with warmth and comfort.

Sites that want to reflect experience and confidence often use brown.

In a Glimpse

Colors can create a very special mood or impression on the website.

If a site’s color gives the wrong impression, it can result in high bounce rates as the site will make you feel inexperienced, unprofessional, or even unreliable.

However, if a color is used that reinforces the message that the site wants to convey, users easily think that the site is reliable.

In this way, the website positively responds to better UX.

You should test the colors you choose for your website.

Remember color psychology to convince your users.

Choosing the right color scheme for your website will help you increase the number of people who buy from you.

One last warning for web designers!

Today’s world is getting smaller and more diversified.

Note that colors differ across cultures. One culture may find a certain color positive but other cultures may perceive it negatively.

For example, in China, white is associated with death, while in Christian countries, brides wear white.

Most places think of purple as a girly color, but in Brazil, purple is one of the colors associated with death.

As a result, in order to apply the best color combination to your potential customers, you must conduct extensive research on your target audience and consider all aspects of that audience.